Mustering Your Confidence Can Be Rewarding
by SlightlyCrazyYetSane
Summary: "You heard me. Kiss me," she repeated in the same exact tone, her eyes narrowing further though her stance remained the same, a barely visible blush on her face.-please, R&R! About the fated kiss that will DEFINITELY happen. ;D T because of paranoia


**A/N: After only a couple of episodes, I am convinced that KoKo (it's better than Makorra ;)) is meant to be. So, here's my version of the kiss that _will _happen. Do tell me how it is! Enjoy!**

**Sorry for any typos, and consider this disclaimed.**

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"Kiss me."

The words were spoken in an authoritative tone, as if commanding a subordinate to do an unwanted task. The demander, a young, tan girl of seventeen, had her arms crossed and her face set, her eyes narrowed in defiance. Her feet were spread evenly apart and her back was completely straight, as if she was trying to hold her ground. All of her confidence was gathered together, barricaded inside herself, and she had made sure that there was no hole that it could leak out of.

Avatar Korra looked as if she was going to war.

"What!"

The boy, slightly older than the girl, spluttered the single word in shock, his eyes wide in confusion and surprise, almost choking on the Lechee juice he was drinking. It was not often one caught Mako so off-guard, and if Korra wasn't so apprehensive and trying to swallow her embarrassment, she would've done a little jig at how goldfish-esque he looked. It seemed that Mako's trademark "cool under fire" style certainly didn't work in _this _situation.

"You heard me. Kiss me," she repeated in the same exact tone, her eyes narrowing further though her stance remained the same, a barely visible blush on her face.

Mako opened his mouth to say something, and then closed it. He repeated the action and then shut his eyes and took a deep breath, running a hand through his hair.

"Why?" he asked once he opened his eyes, considerably calmer and much more collected than before.

"Do you need a reason?" Korra snapped. This was _much _more difficult than she had imagined it, and she didn't like this…this _vulnerable _feeling she was sensing right now. She thanked the Spirits that she didn't blush easy, and that it was hard to make out a blush on her face.

"Yes."

She was actually getting quite tired of his cool and calm demeanor. Couldn't he just _kiss _her like she had asked? What was the harm in that? Why'd he have to make things so complicated and _difficult_? She was impatient on her best days; right now, she _really _didn't want to deal with his annoying act.

"Because I say so."

"I need a better reason than _that_, Korra," he replied in that same, annoying tone of his.

"Oh, so what, you're saying that I'm not _desirable_? That I'm not good enough to be kissed by you? Is that it? Are you trying to imply that you're better than me? Because, listen here Mako, I just want a kiss so I can prove something! It has nothing to do with me _wanting _to kiss you," she bristled, though the last part was a lie. A _huge_ lie. One of astronomical proportions.

Mako blinked at her tirade, feeling just a bit apprehensive because of the death glare that she was throwing at him. Though, of course, _he _would never admit it.

When push came to shove, he could be just as stubborn as her.

"No, that's not true," Mako said slowly.

"Which part's not true, Mako? I prattled off quite a few questions," she replied impatiently, though her heart had sped _just _a little faster when he had voiced the denial.

It didn't mean anything, though. The kiss would prove it. Korra was certain that, if she kissed him, she would _stop _the annoying emotions from bubbling up. It would stop how her heart sped up when he offered her one of his rare half-smiles; would stop how she couldn't help beaminglike an _idiot_ when he had a proud spark in his eyes as he looked at her; would stop how she couldn't help but want his company around, to talk to him, to _be _with him.

Because, really, that was all just a misunderstanding. Korra _couldn't _feel that way about him. He was so annoying! And rude, and a jerk, and inconsiderate, and took everything too seriously, and really, really annoying, and frustrating, and just plain _weird._

Had she mentioned how _annoying _he was?

Also, when she was around him, she felt so…weird. And all _tingly_. Especially when he smiled at her.

So, really, it was totally _impossible _that she felt that way about him.

"Uh, well, that, um, stuff you said," he said vaguely, and his ears were getting just a bit pink. Though Korra didn't notice, he was also just a bit dismayed.

Korra blinked. It wasn't that she didn't like dethroning him from his throne of cool, but Mako _stuttering_?

What was up with _that_? He never really stuttered. Even if he was confused, he would take a deep breath, piece his sentence together, and ask a question.

"_What _stuff I said?

"What you said in your rant!"

"The part where I said that you were implying that you were better than me? Or where I said that you were thinking that I'm not good enough for you?" she prattled off again, and then stopped, realization dawning on her face as a small blush bloomed on her cheeks. "Or the, um, desirable part?"

_Please say the desirable part, please say the desirable part, please say the desirable part_, she pleaded internally without wanting to, and then stopped herself.

Now that Korra actually _looked _at Mako, she saw that he was...he was _blushing._

Mako, the undoubted king of calm and cool, was _blushing_.

Instead of answering her question, he leaned in quickly, touched his lips with hers, and in the time that Korra blinked, he leaned back.

Though it was quick (_way _too quick), Korra felt her heart rate double, her breathing hitch just the slightest, and this _warmth_ spread throughout her whole body, from the top of her head to the tip of her toes.

Well.

_That _didn't help.

If anything, it just reconfirmed the stupid little inkling that she had been having. That she _maybe_ had a teensy weensy little crush on Mako.

Wonderful_. Just _what she needed. Not only did she have to keep peace and balance in the world, she also had _boy _troubles. This was just fucking _great_.

She blinked out of her haze and cleared her throat, remembering that Mako still hadn't answered her question.

"You still haven't answered my question." She was back on track now. She would have to deal with this idiotic grade-school crush later. So what? It was just a quick kiss.

She hated how she couldn't lie to herself.

"Well? Are you done with your little experiment?" he asked, dodging the question completely, the blush much more prominent on his face.

"Mako, you're not answering me!"

"Fine! I said that that stuff you said about you being "not good enough" wasn't true and all," he finally said, muttering at the end.

"That's it?" she asked, sure that the disappointment was obvious on her face even though she was trying her hardest to stop it.

"Yes."

In the time that Korra had known Mako—which admittedly wasn't that long –she had learned that there was one thing that Mako wasn't the best at: lying to someone he cared about. He was great at smooth-talking his way out of tight situations, flawless at masking his emotions from unwanted intruders, and had perfected the art of "Jerk", scaring off people that he didn't really like or didn't really want to know. However, one thing he _couldn't _do was lie to someone he cared about. The guilt would be eminent on his face, and he wouldn't be able to meet the person in the eye.

Stripping away his "tough guy" persona, he was a softie. He couldn't lie to a loved one if his life depended on it.

So when he blushed and looked away, the guilt obvious on his face Korra couldn't help the bubbling hope appearing.

Did Mako…

Did Mako _like _her…?

Oh, Spirits, did Mako _like _her?

"Why…why are you blushing, Mako?" she asked, the apprehensiveness seeping into her tone as she stared hopefully at him. His eyes widened in alarm and he quickly snapped his gaze toward her.

"It's really…hot in here. I'm flustered by your whimsical, nonsensical demands, not being able to understand what you want and _why _you want it, and the heat _really _isn't helping."

Searching his eyes to find out if it was the truth—and it was—Korra was unable to stop the question that popped out next.

"So, that's it? It has _nothing _to do with the kiss?"

Immediately, she regretted it. She sounded as if she was desperate! Desperate for _him_! When he blushed and looked away, though, Korra's mind began to change.

"No, it has _nothing _to do with the kiss."

Korra grinned a Cheshire cat smile.

"You're lying," she said in a cheery tone—though who could blame her? Mako liked her! "Spirits, you're lying to me, and you're doing a horrible job at it, too."

"I am _not _a bad liar!" he quickly snapped, and then shut his eyes and exhaled slowly as he realized the mistake he had made.

He had showed a reaction. Which meant Korra wouldn't let him get away until she knew _everything_.

"Admit it, Mako," she said in her usual confident, flippant way. "You like me."

"I do _not_ like you," he denied vehemently, but Korra wasn't having any of it. Piecing together his actions and reactions, his denials and acceptances, she had finally realized that he _did _like her. He was just too stubborn to admit it—perhaps even to himself.

Korra just had to convince him. Now that she was over the initial embarrassment, and had realized that Mako was just being stubborn as usual, she could do this with the confidence that she was famous for.

She was the _Avatar_. She could handle some crush.

"Really?" she asked in a skeptical, dubious tone, an eyebrow cocked.

"_Yes, _really!"

"Mmmhmm."

"Why won't you believe me?" he asked irately.

"Hmm, let me see," she pondered out loud, tapping her chin in a faux-thoughtful manner. "You're blushing as red as an Airbender's robes, you can't meet me fully in the eye as you voice your completely untrue denials, and you seem incredibly flustered—_just _by me asking you some questions. I mean, since you suck at lying to someone you care about, it makes it much easier to get you flustered, and you only get flustered when something you really, _really _don't want happening happens. So, really, piecing it all together, I've come to the conclusion that you actually _like _like me, but don't want anyone knowing."

Mako scowled spectacularly once more. "Korra, you don't know what you're talking about."

"Oh?" she asked, and then leaned in closer until their faces were inches apart. "Funny, 'cause I think I know _exactly _what I'm talking about."

"Uh, Korra…" Mako started, his eyes wide in alarm though he couldn't help flicking his eyes down toward her lips every now and then. "What are you doing?"

"I'm proving you wrong, of course," she said matter-of-factly, her voice a whisper, and then leaned in until their lips touched. This time, she grabbed his head to make sure that he wouldn't quickly pull away. Because pull away, he did try to. After a few seconds, though, he stopped trying to pull away and instead relaxed a bit into the kiss, his hand slowly making its way to the back of her head.

Oh, _Spirits_.

Where the hell did he learn to _kiss _like this?

It was bliss. Though they weren't really doing anything but touching lips, the fact that they were doing _something _together, that he actually _liked _her, made it amazing.

He opened his mouth just the slightest and Korra couldn't help but mimic the action. Suddenly, she felt a bit week at the knees, so she quickly pulled away.

She could feel the heat taking over her face and she was sure that she was blushing as red as a tomato. She gave a little awkward cough and blinked a few times before looking up at Mako.

He was smirking. The cheeky bastard was _smirking_.

Though it was barely visible, just a _tiny_ little lift at the corner of his lips, it was enough to get Korra riled up.

"Why are you smirking?" she snapped in a waspish tone. He blinked a few times, and then the smirk got larger.

"Nothing."

"Don't lie to me!"

"I'm just...you're blushing."

"I'm not blushing! It's just…really hot in here!" she explained louder than she probably should have.

"No, you're blushing because I kissed you."

"You didn't kiss me; I kissed you, Mako-the-stubborn. You were too busy being five and immature to actually _admit_ the fact that you liked me, remember?"

He narrowed his eyes and scowled slightly, and Korra internally crowed in victory. Success! The smirk was gone.

"Fine," he growled. And then, he leaned in and quickly kissed her. He pulled away, and he was smirking slightly once more. "Now _I _kissed you. Happy?"

Korra rolled her eyes, though she couldn't help the small smile from spreading across her face, thankful that she had mustered her confidence.

She decided that she could get used to this.

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**A/N: Soooo...? Thoughts? Was everyone IC? I haven't seen episode three yet, so I may have gotten something wrong...you might wanna drop a review to ease my nerves? (hinthinthint) **

**Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed. Until next time, then!**

**~SCYS**


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